The Arsenal of Freedom
' |image= |series= |production=40271-121 |producer(s)= |story=Maurice Hurley Robert Lewin |script=Richard Manning Hans Beimler |director=Les Landau |imdbref=tt0708783 |guests=Vincent Schiavelli as The Peddler, Marco Rodríguez as Captain Paul Rice, Vyto Ruginis as Chief Engineer Logan, Julia Nickson as Lt. Lian T'Su |previous_production=Heart of Glory |next_production=Skin of Evil |episode=TNG A21 |airdate=9 April 1988 |previous_release=Heart of Glory |next_release=Symbiosis |story_date(s)=Stardate 41798.2 |previous_story=Heart of Glory |next_story=Symbiosis }} =Summary= The Enterprise has been sent to the Lorenze Cluster to search for the USS Drake after it vanished while surveying the planet Minos. When the ship reaches the planet, they are met by a pre-recorded holographic figure advertising "The Arsenal of Freedom", and invites the crew to the surface. An away team is sent to the surface, where they are met by a holographic projection of the Drake's captain who asks Commander William Riker what ship he is from. Riker realises that it is a trick and tells the hologram that he is from the Lollipop and it's a "good ship". After being further questioned about the Lollipop's armament, the hologram disappears revealing a floating sentry probe that fires a stasis beam around Riker before Lt. Cmdr Data or Lt. Yar can destroy it. A field around the planet prevents the Enterprise from beaming up the away-team. Captain Picard and Doctor Crusher travel to the surface, and leave Lt. La Forge in charge of the Enterprise. Picard and Crusher meet with the away team as another sentry probe appears and fires on them. Picard and Crusher are separated from Data and Yar and fall into a hole, where Crusher is injured. While Picard attempts to tend to Crusher's injuries, Data manages to release Riker from the stasis field. Riker, Yar and Data are again attacked, but this time by an upgraded probe. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is attacked by a cloaked sentry probe, and La Forge orders a saucer separation, departing to the battle bridge. Picard discovers a computer terminal. He activates it, causing a hologram to appear which explains that they are witnessing a demonstration of the "Echo-Papa 607", a system of intelligent weapons which are able to upgrade in response to any enemy threat. Picard surmises that the Minosians, as well as the Drake, were destroyed by the weapon. He unsuccessfully attempts to coerce the hologram to end the demonstration. Data is able to find an air shaft leading to Picard's location, and jumps down to try to examine the computer, realizing that while he could set the sentries to target their own power source, the explosion would probably take out the whole area, including the away-team. Picard attempts to negotiate again with the hologram, eventually agreeing to buy the weapons system. Satisfied, the hologram disappears, and the computer system shuts down. Meanwhile, La Forge uses the planet's atmosphere to reveal the location of the space-born probe and destroys it. The away team return to the star-drive section and set course to rendezvous with the saucer section, still under La Forge's command, as Picard remarks that he left him with the ship intact and would like it returned in the same condition. =Errors and Explanations= Plot Oversights # Picard demonstrates that his senior officers aren't the only ones with a lack of first-aid knowledge. After falling into a cavern, he immediately tries to move Crusher. She groans in pain and he stops. Good thing she was awake! Othenrwise he might have done additional damage by grinding the jagged edges of her broken bones through her muscles. He's trying to make her comfortable!. Equipment Oddities # For the great majority of this episode, Data's tricorder makes no sound, although Yar‘s and Crusher's do. Probably some kind of passive scan mode. Nit Central # D.K. Henderson on Thursday, January 28, 1999 - 07:49 am: I wonder how Beverly Crusher has survived as long as she has. "Oh, gee, those plants over there look like plants I saw on a different planet, with an entirely different ecosystem, but I'm going to assume that they have the same medicinal properties and use them on myself." Really smart. Mike Konczewski on Thursday, January 28, 1999 - 05:18 pm: In defense of Crusher, she knew that her condition was serious and, without treatment, she would die. Given her terminal state, making assumptions about the local plant life's medicinal properties was not that much more of a risk. I admit she was lucky that she guessed right. # Keith Alan Morgan on Monday, April 19, 1999 - 07:54 am: All intelligent life has disappeared from the planet, a ship and crew sent to explore the planet have also disappeared and Data, Riker and Yar find what appears to be some kind of energy cannon. If you were on the planet, would you just casually walk in front of the barrel as Data and Yar do? They obviously believe it to be non-operational. # Why do those probes stay in one place long enough for the phaser beams to destroy them? If they were truly adaptive, shouldn't they fly around to be tougher targets? They may not be capable of such sudden moves. # The Drake was sent to Minos because the life seemed to have disappeared, then the Drake disappears, later Picard and Beverly find themselves in a vine filled room that just happens to be the control room for the weapons. Does the plant life on this planet just grow really, really fast or did Starfleet just drag it's feet about sending the Drake and the Enterprise to investigate? The loss of the Drake and it's crew may have occurred before the vine covered room could be uncovered. # Why don't Starfleet engineers study this weapons design place and come up with weapons to defeat the Borg and the Jem'Hadar? These weapons do learn from their mistakes and improve themselves. (Or does that dumb treaty with the Romulans forbid using weapons from the Arsenal of Freedom as well?) Too risky – there is no guarantee that the weapons won't turn on their operators. # Jonathan (Jon0815) on Friday, April 27, 2012 - 9:21 pm: The drones that attack the away team are either amazingly incompetent, or not really trying. Except for the first drone, which manages to encase Riker in the stasis field, all of their shots miss, sometimes by a wide margin, even when their targets are stationary just a few meters away. Also, they will periodically stop firing and float in the air in front of away team members for 20 seconds or more, dodging phaser blasts but without returning fire. The probes are carrying out a pre-sales demonstration, and are therefore programmed not to harm potential purchasers! # Jonathan (Jon0815) on Monday, April 30, 2012 - 2:21 pm: Why don't the pods attacking the away team have cloaks, like the one that attacks the Enterprise in orbit? The orbiting probe is larger, and has more room for the cloaking generator and the additional power supply it would need. =Notes= =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation